The Acolyte introduces a new vergence in the Force to the Star Wars galaxy. Revealing the events of Brendock in full, The Acolyte episode 7 builds upon the mysteries the show has already introduced regarding the creation of the twins Mae and Osha Aniseya, as well as the origins of their power in the Force. To that end, it’s been revealed why the Jedi were on Brendock in the first place.

In The Acolyte episode 7, it’s been confirmed that Jedi Masters Indara, Torbin, Sol, and Kelnacca were assigned by the Jedi Council to investigate Brendock, a world that had once been desolate but was now teeming with new life, 16 years before the events of The Acolyte in the present. Believing the cause to be a key vergence in the Force, the Jedi seeking this nexus of power is what led to their discovery of Mae, Osha, and the Witches of Brendock led by Mother Aniseya. To that end, here’s what Force vergences are in the Star Wars canon and why they’re so important.

A Vergence Is A Physical Hotspot Of The Force

They Can Be Worlds, Objects, Even People

As Masters Indara and Sol explain to Padawan Torbin in The Acolyte episode 7, the Jedi Order believes that Brendock contains a vergence in the Force, one that the Jedi must seek out and study due to its great power. This is why they had been on Brendock for weeks, studying the planet’s composition and new plant life with various devices and the like, only for Sol to eventually discover Mae and Osha, their shared gifts in the Force, and the cult of witches raising them.

In the Star Wars canon, vergences are physical hotspots of great power in the Force. As such, they often became sites of major conflict between the Jedi Order and the Sith Empire during the Old Republic, each seeking to claim control over various locations and worlds rich in the Force as each locus found could amplify the powers of Force-sensitive beings, grant impressive visions, and more. These vergences could also be focused around different aspects of the Force, be it light, dark, or neutral.

Vergences Are Almost Always Dark-Side Oriented

Like Dagobah’s Cave of Evil or Ahch-To’s Mirror Cave

While there are vergences that are based in the light, most of the known vergences in the Star Wars canon are centered around the dark side. This includes the Cave of Evil on Dagobah where Luke faces a vision of Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back, a key vision showing him his worst fears while also foreshadowing the future reveal that Vader was his father. Likewise, Ahch-To had its own dark side vergence despite being the site of the First Jedi Temple (the Mirror Cave as seen in The Last Jedi).

There Have Been Force Vergences In Star Wars Before

Often Tied To Major Moments In The Skywalker Saga

Beyond the location-based vergences described above, past vergences in the Star Wars canon have also been objects and even people. As the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker himself was described by Qui-Gon Jinn as a vergence in the Phantom Menace. Likewise, the Skywalker saber itself became a vergence, as seen when Rey first touched the blade and received a major vision in The Force Awakens.

To that end, it does seem like a Force vergence is responsible for the creation of Mae and Osha and their unique presence in the Force as one being separated into two. It appears as though Aniseya herself manipulated the vergence to achieve this impressive feat, though to what end and how the twins were meant to save the witches remains unclear. That said, it’s also possible that Mae and Osha became a vergence themselves, perhaps even being a rare dyad in the Force (not unlike Kylo Ren and Rey in the sequel trilogy).